Broadcast TV Ratings for Monday, March 23, 2009 March 24, 2009 5:31 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.Tags: Broadcast TV Ratings, Monday
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ABC’s Dancing With the Stars drew more than 20 million viewers, leading the network comfortably past the competition to take first place on the evening. Week three of Castle didn’t go so well, however, with the show dipping by double-digits across the board, and falling below 10 million viewers (Note: The numbers will likely fall more when the finals are released because DWTS ran two minutes into the 10:00pm hour).
Following in second place was CBS. I’m confused about why the network decided to move How I Met Your Mother to 8:00pm and put a repeat at 8:30pm, but whatever the reason, it did not work at all. The show dipped significantly (by more than double-digits). Rules of Engagement also slipped a bit at 9:30pm (it led out of a repeat of Two and a Half Men) but managed a still healthy number among adults 18-49, with near 100% retention among the demo (I know it aired out of a repeat, but its still noteworthy). CSI: Miami closed out the evening as the night’s #2 most-watched program after Dancing With the Stars.
Fox aired a repeat of House last night, but an original episode of 24 kept the network in a solid third place, with very little loss in viewership from the week prior.
NBC was stuck in fourth place with original installments of Chuck, Heroes and Medium. The biggest news is that Heroes hit series lows yet again.
And rounding out the was The CW which failed to get much traction out of Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill.
Full ratings and breakdown’s, including my full analysis, week-to-week comparisons, etc., follow after the jump.
ABC finished in first place for the evening with a 10.8/17 household rating/share, 16.71 million viewers and a 4.2/11 rating/share among adults 18-49.
Last Week:
11.4/18 HH rating/share [#1]
17.88M viewers [#1]
4.6/12 A18-49 rating/share [#1]
- 8:00 p.m.: Dancing With the Stars (12.8/19 HH rating/share, 20.02M viewers, 4.9/13 A18-49 rating/share) lost more than a million viewers from last week’s episode, but percentage wise, held relatively steady and still boasted an impressive >20M viewers, more than 6.5 million more viewers than its nearest competitor (CBS’s CSI: Miami).
Week-to-week numbers:
Households – 13.3/20 to 12.8/19 (-4%)
Viewers – 21.22M to 20.02M (-6%/-1.20M)
Adults 18-49 – 5.3/14 to 4.9/13 (-8%)
- 10:00 (10:02) p.m.: After posting a slight gain last week, Castle (6.6/11 HH rating/share, 9.81M viewers, 2.7/7 A18-49 rating/share) looks headed for a rather steep third week decline. The show was off by double digits across the board, falling to below 10 million viewers. This performance does not bode well for the show’s future. When DWTS moves to a 90-minute format and Castle moves away from its strong lead-in, we’ll get a better feel for its strength (or perhaps will find out before then). Note: Because of the 2-minute DWTS overrun, I’ll provide an update when the final nationals are released. Update: Here are the finals: 6.2/10 HH rating/share, 9.14M viewers and a 2.5/7 A18-49. So yes, the two-minute overrun resulted in a poor performance, nearly dropping below 9 million viewers. Retention from its lead-in was horrible as well (final nationals for DWTS were 12.9/19 HH rating/share, 20.34M viewers and a 5.0/13 A18-49 rating/share, which resulted in retention levels for Castle at just 48% among households, 45% among viewers and 50% among adults 18-49).
Week-to-week numbers (based on fast affiliate numbers – 10:00-11:00pm):
Households – 7.7/13 to 6.6/11 (-14%)
Viewers – 11.48M to 9.81M (-15%/-1.67M)
Adults 18-49 – 3.1/9 to 2.7/7 (-13%)
Week-to-week numbers (based on final national numbers – 10:02-11:00pm–Updated with the final nationals):
Households – 7.4/12 to 6.2/10 (-16%)
Viewers – 10.97M to 9.14M (-17%/-1.83M)
Adults 18-49 – 2.9/8 to 2.5/7 (-14%)
CBS followed in second place for the evening with a 6.5/10 household rating/share, 10.29 million viewers and a 3.4/9 rating/share among adults 18-49.
Last Week:
7.3/11 HH rating/share [#2]
11.85M viewers [#3]
4.0/11 A18-49 rating/share [#3]
- 8:00 p.m.: For some reason, CBS decided to move How I Met Your Mother (4.5/7 HH rating/share, 7.40M viewers, 2.9/8 A18-49 rating/share) into the 8pm time slot away from its normal 8:30pm time slot, and the results were less than impressive. The show was off nearly 2 million viewers and a disappointing 26% among adults 18-49 from last week. The repeat that followed nearly duplicated the performance, indicating to me that many non-DVR viewers simply didn’t know that the show had been moved to 8pm. Odds are very good that it’ll rebound in coming weeks.
Week-to-week numbers (8:30pm):
Households – 5.4/8 to 4.5/7 (-17%)
Viewers – 9.29M to 7.40M (-20%/-1.89M)
Adults 18-49 – 3.9/10 to 2.9/8 (-26%)
Last week’s numbers (The Big Bang Theory):
Households – 5.7/9
Viewers – 9.69M
Adults 18-49 – 3.7/11
- 8:30 p.m.: How I Met Your Mother-REPEAT (4.2/6 HH rating/share, 6.95M viewers, 2.6/7 A18-49 rating/share).
- 9:00 p.m.: Two and a Half Men-REPEAT (7.0/11 HH rating/share, 11.06M viewers, 3.5/9 A18-49 rating/share).
Last week’s numbers (Two and a Half Men):
Households – 8.5/13
Viewers – 14.12M
Adults 18-49 – 4.8/12
- 9:30 p.m.: With no original lead-in support, Rules of Engagement (6.0/9 HH rating/share, 9.43M viewers, 3.4/8 A18-49 rating/share) fell by double-digits, but it should be noted that the show still managed a very solid performance, and held on to nearly all of its lead-in’s A18-49 demo rating (97% retention).
Week-to-week numbers:
Households – 6.9/10 to 6.0/9 (-13%)
Viewers – 11.42M to 9.43M (-17%/-1.99M)
Adults 18-49 – 4.0/10 to 3.4/8 (-15%)
- 10:00 p.m.: CSI: Miami (8.6/14 HH rating/share, 13.46M viewers, 4.0/11 A18-49 rating/share) was the only show on CBS last night that increased its audience from the week prior, and even that was minimal, and in just one benchmark: +5% among adults 18-49. The show easily won its time slot, however, out-rating its nearest competitor (ABC’s Castle) by 3.65M viewers and a whopping 48% in the A18-49 demo (4.0 vs. 2.7). Update: Not too important, but the finals actually ticked up among viewers, resulting in no week-to-week decline in any category. Here are the finals: 8.6/14 HH rating/share, 13.67M viewers and a 4.0/11 A18-49 rating/share.
Week-to-week numbers:
Households – 8.6/15 to 8.6/14 (n/c)
Viewers – 13.61M to 13.46M (-1%/-0.15M)
Adults 18-49 – 3.8/10 to 4.0/11 (+5%)
FOX finished in third place for the evening with a 5.4/8 household rating/share, 8.99 million viewers and a 3.0/8 rating/share among adults 18-49.
Last Week:
7.1/11 HH rating/share [#3]
12.07M viewers [#2]
4.2/11 A18-49 rating/share [#2]
- 8:00 p.m.: House-REPEAT (4.8/7 HH rating/share, 7.67M viewers, 2.7/7 A18-49 rating/share).
Last week’s numbers (House):
Households – 7.8/12
Viewers – 13.13M
Adults – 4.9/13
- 9:00 p.m.: Without an original episode of House leading into it, 24 (6.1/9 HH rating/share, 10.30M viewers, 3.4/8 A18-49 rating/share) actually held its own quite well, with only slight upper single digit losses from the week prior. Commenting now strictly on the episode: Is it really necessary to have stuff happen on this show that we know for a fact would never happen in real life? I know its TV and we should suspend belief a little, but come on! What happened last night was a bit much.
Week-to-week numbers:
Households – 6.6/10 to 6.1/9 (-8%)
Viewers – 11.36M to 10.30M (-9%/-1.06M)
Adults 18-49 – 3.7/9 to 3.4/8 (-8%)
NBC followed in fourth place for the evening with a 4.0/6 household rating/share, 6.36 million viewers and a 2.4/6 rating/share among adults 18-49.
Last Week:
2.4/4 HH rating [#4]
3.75M viewers [#4]
1.3/3 A18-49 rating [#4]
- 8:00 p.m.: Chuck (3.7/6 HH rating/share, 6.05M viewers, 2.2/6 A18-49 rating/share) returned from its one-week hiatus with a slight gain across the board, but really nothing to be proud of. To put the performance in perspective, a repeat of House on Fox out-drew it by more than 1.5 million viewers and by five-tenth of a rating point (+23% better) among adults 18-49.
Episode-to-episode numbers (3/9/2009):
Households – 3.5/5 to 3.7/6 (+6%)
Viewers – 5.80M to 6.05M (+4%/+0.25M)
Adults 18-49 – 2.1/6 to 2.2/6 (+5%)
- 9:00 p.m.: The return of Bryan Fuller — he wrote the episode — couldn’t lift Heroes (4.0/6 HH rating/share, 6.56M viewers, 3.0/7 A18-49 rating/share) out of its slide. The show hit series lows, yet again, among households, viewers and adults 18-49 (previous series lows came with its most recent episode). The overall losses from the episode prior weren’t too significant, but the continued slide in viewership should be a major concern for NBC. That 3.0 level among adults 18-49 is incredibly important for a “high-profile” show, especially one that peaked with a 6.9 rating in the demo (hard to believe isn’t it?). Update: Something signficant happened with the finals; the show dropped below 3.0 in the demo. Here are the final numbers: 4.0/6 HH rating/share, 6.47M viewers and a 2.9/7 A18-49 rating/share. Very poor performance.
Episode-to-episode numbers (3/9/2009):
Households – 4.2/6 to 4.0/6 (-5%)
Viewers – 6.70M to 6.56M (-2%/-0.14M)
Adults 18-49 – 3.2/8 to 3.0/7 (-6%)
- 10:00 p.m.: Medium (4.4/7 HH rating/share, 6.56M viewers, 2.2/6 A18-49 rating/share) completed the hour-to-hour slide for NBC, and also — if I’m not mistaken I’ll have to double-check — hit series lows across the board. The show finished a distant last place in the time slot.
Episode-to-episode numbers (3/9/2009):
Households – 4.7/8 to 4.4/7 (-6%)
Viewers – 7.13M to 6.56M (-8%/-0.57M)
Adults 18-49 – 2.5/6 to 2.2/6 (-12%)
The CW finished in fifth place for the evening with a 1.5/2 household rating/share, 2.23 million viewers and a 1.1/3 rating/share among adults 18-49.
Last Week:
1.5/2 HH rating [#5]
2.26M viewers [#5]
1.1/3 A18-49 rating [#5]
- 8:00 p.m.: Gossip Girl (1.5/2 HH rating/share, 2.20M viewers, 1.0/3 A18-49 rating/share) was mostly even from the week prior in terms of overall audience, but took quite a hit among adults 18-49 (keep in mind that these numbers may change some and even a one-tenth difference can make a huge difference, percentage wise). The biggest problem, however, is that overall the show is really struggling and 2.2 million viewers in primetime, I don’t care what the competition is, shouldn’t be accepted so casually as The CW seems to accept these numbers.Update: Households and viewers stayed mostly steady in the finals, but as I noted, the show improved by one-tenth in the finals among adults 18-49. Here are the final numbers: 1.5/2 HH rating/share, 2.25M viewers and a 1.1/3 A18-49 rating/share. That minimizes the show’s weekly decline among adults 18-49 to 8%.
Week-to-week numbers:
Households – 1.6/2 to 1.5/2 (-6%)
Viewers – 2.33M to 2.20M (-6%/-0.13M)
Adults 18-49 – 1.2/3 to 1.0/3 (-17%)
- 9:00 p.m.: My same analysis holds for One Tree Hill (1.6/2 HH rating/share, 2.26M viewers, 1.1/3 A18-49 rating/share). I’ve long held that you can’t program a broadcast network to cater to a specific audience (not only is The CW basically targeting women, and women only, they are reducing that demo even further to just women 18-34). That’s what they invented cable networks for. They are not leaving themselves enough room to grow. I’m continually baffled by The CW. Oh well, I guess they know what’s best for them.Update: The finals jumped a bit, resulting in a steady week-to-week performance: 1.7/2 HH rating/share (n/c), 2.40M viewers (-0%/-0.01) and a 1.2/3 A18-49 rating/share (n/c).
Week-to-week numbers:
Households – 1.6/2 to 1.6/2 (n/c)
Viewers – 2.41M to 2.26M (-6%/-0.15M)
Adults 18-49 – 1.2/3 to 1.1/3 (-8%)
Note: Network average numbers from the week prior are based on fast affiliate data. Comparison’s from the week prior (or episode-to-episode, etc.) on specific shows are based on final national data. Ratings for the current day are based on fast affiliate data. (Expect all three scenarios to be the case at all times, unless otherwise noted). The final rating for first-run episodes that aired this evening will be reported the following week. So for example, the final rating for tonight’s episode of “Dancing With the Stars” will be reported in next weeks report for Monday, March 23, 2009. Also keep in mind that because these are fast affiliate numbers, when the finals are released there may be noticeable changes.
And lastly, there may be some errors in the data due to rounding/human error. I’ll do my best to limit those mistakes and correct them in time for the next week’s report.
Sources: Fast Affiliate/Final National Ratings Data from Nielsen Media Research. For daily ratings results, check out Zap2It, PIFeedback and TVbytheNumbers.
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